To those passing through, ivivva is a small shop with athletic wear for girls. But upon closer inspection, the little house in Cahaba Heights is much more.

ivivva is a growing brand of lululemon athletica geared toward girls ages 4 to 14. The Canadian company, known for its stylish athletic wear for men and women, started the line in 2009. The brand has quickly grown and, thanks to Ashley Wilks, ivivva recently opened a showroom in Cahaba Heights.

With children of her own and as an employee at lululemon's only Birmingham location at The Summit, Wilks was quickly sold on the concept behind ivivva.

"I have three girls, and they're all really into sports," she says. "They play soccer, dance, lacrosse. This, ivivva, is really about empowering girls."

While the showroom in Cahaba Heights showcases fun, fashionable workout wear for girls, it also aims to bring them together through fitness and community, a concept common with the lululemon brand.

Birmingham's lululemon location has a large Vulcan statue out front, making it unique to the city. Free yoga classes invite the community into the store for more than just shopping. While ivivva in Cahaba Heights doesn't showcase iconic Birmingham landmarks, the girls who go there have been able to make their mark on the décor as well as the classes.

The main part of the showroom is reserved for clothing displays. Wilks says her young customers often dress the mannequins. "They come up with great combinations that are really fun," she says.

Like its lululemon counterpart, ivivva also hosts free, community classes. Here, the girls get to decide what they will be.

"One day it might be yoga, another, Crossfit," Wilks says. She takes requests for the classes and brings in qualified instructors from the area to teach them. Wilks, a certified running coach, also hosts a group run starting at the store on Saturday mornings.

Classes are hosted in a workshop behind the store. There, girls spraypainted the walls in glow-in-the-dark colors with inspirational messages such as, "You can do it," "Don't stop" and "Be Yourself."

"We really just want them to come and hang out and have fun," Wilks says. "Here the girls are the focus, not the parents. We want to know what they think and let them know that they are important."

While working at lululemon, Wilks says her goal was to bring an ivivva to Birmingham. Once she got the go ahead, she was charged with finding a building. She picked the house in Cahaba Heights because of its central location, she says.

"I think this area is kind of a connector of lots of communities," she says. "It's also central to a lot of dance companies and yoga, and soccer and lacrosse."

With the ivivva showroom open, Wilks has now set her sites on expanding it into a full store, which would still offer classes as well as more clothing geared toward girls using the same high-quality fabrics the lululemon brand is known for in a larger space and more commercial area. She would also like Birmingham to become an ivivva training site as more of the stores and showrooms open in the South.

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